High Youth Unemployment Cited as Major U.S. Social Problem

Washington--Janet L. Norwood, the U.S. commissioner of labor
statistics, told a Senate committee last week that unemployment among
young people is one of the nation's most serious social problems and
one that is worsening for minorities.

In testimony before the Senate Committee on Environment and Public
Works, Ms. Norwood said that population statistics released this month
indicate that nearly half of all black teen-agers in the labor force
were unemployed last year.

Jobless Teen-Agers

More than 23 percent of all 16- to 19-year olds in the workforce
were jobless last year and 14.9 percent of the 20- to 24-year-olds were
out of work, according to the data from the Bureau of Labor
Statistics.

The labor commissioner also said that college graduates of the
1970's and early 1980's have found it harder to obtain work than did
previous generations of graduates--and that a college education is now
less likely to lead to the kinds of professional jobs that
traditionally require degrees.

Unemployment lasts four weeks or less for one-third of all
teen-agers looking for work, Ms. Norwood said. Such brief periods of
unemployment can be attributed to the more transient lives of young
people, the commissioner said.

She noted that almost one-half of all unemployed teen-agers were in
school.

But, she added, the problem is much more "permanent" for members of
minority groups and youths living in metropolitan areas. She noted that
teen-agers bear a large part of the responsibility for support in many
low-income families.

The employment rates of white teen-agers have risen during periods
of economic growth, Ms. Norwood said, but the employment rates of black
teen-agers have fallen during those periods. As a consequence, many
blacks have stopped trying to enter the workforce, she said.

Last year, only 34 percent of black teen-agers were either working
or looking for work, Ms. Norwood said. "[B]lack youth labor-market
problems are not limited solely to unemployment but extend to those
that have chosen not to enter the labor force at all," she told the
committee.

Prior to the middle 1950's, Ms. Norwood said, the employment
experience of whites and blacks "was roughly the same." By 1979, 58
percent of white teen-agers were entering the labor force while only 34
percent of blacks sought jobs.

Such low participation in the workforce, Ms. Norwood said, would
have later implications.

Deprived of Work Skills

Prolonged unemployment, in addition to its ecomonic deprivations,
"can deprive young people of the opportunity to accustom themselves to
the world of work or to develop work skills," she said.

"We tend to think of adult workers as mature, experienced, and
productive," she said. "But many of these adults have built upon the
job experiences of their youth. Young people who have not had any
success in the job market may [later] encounter more difficulty."

The Senate panel is studying long-term unemployment and the
deterioriation of the public "infrastructure," which includes roads,
bridges, and buildings.

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